The Last Goodbye
by SilentWitness
Summary: A short, poinant realization of afriendship lost.


A poignant realization of a true friend, too late. This takes place moments after Draco's death.  
  
No names are used in this story. If anyone has any trouble understanding which character is which, please let me know.  
  
  
*Standard disclaimer- I do not own DragonHeart or any of the character held within. I will not be making any money off of this story.*  
  
  
  
  
The Last Goodbye  
By SilentWitness  
  
Afterwards he sat, watching the sky. All night long he sat, cross-legged in the middle of the chains that had so recently bound his friend. What was running through his mind was hard to say. Sometimes it seemed that the whole universe was coursing into his head, through his mind, into his blood. Mostly, though, he sat silently, seeing nothing, feeling nothing, wanting nothing.   
  
The others had long since dispersed. Their sorrow for the death of the dragon could not help but give way to celebration over the triumph of the tyrant who had unjustly controlled their lives for so long. They had not known the boundless wisdom that the dragon had held in his eyes, they had not seen the ageless grace with which the dragon had carried himself. They did not fully realize the implications of the death of the very last dragon. Glory tickled their ears, and they loved it.  
  
She waited for hours, standing silently beside him as he sat, lost in thought. She watched him carefully, worry piercing her eyes and a strange feeling tugging at her innermost depths. She felt the fierce devastation and loss of the dragon's death. He had been her friend. He'd helped her regain her confidence after her crippling experience at the hands of others. He'd listened to her, which was something no one had done for a very long time. Most of all, he'd been kind to her. She'd trusted him, and he trusted her right back. Now he was gone forever, and that pain could never go away. And so she stood and watched the man beside her long into the night, until two others came and led her away.  
  
Alone, he sat. He could no longer feel his legs beneath him. He could not feel much of his body, the numbing cold of the night air filling in the gaps where his emotional numbness couldn't reach. The only thing he could feel was the beating of his own heart. Thump, thump, thump, thump... It never missed a beat. Nothing else mattered. Not anymore.  
  
It was too late now. Too late to realize that under the cloak of righteousness, vengeance and the virtue of the old code, under the facade that he had fought for honor and his principles, the truth lay clear and ironically bright. He had fought for the dragon. The battle had been for *him*. All the effort that went into training the men, all of the preparations, all of the time and skill and energy they'd put into it, no matter what else he'd told himself and tried to convince himself of, it had all been for the dragon, his friend. The only friend he'd had for ten years. Perhaps, the only true friend he'd ever had.   
  
He alone had understood the dragon. He was the only one who could have understand the references the dragon made to the Old Code and how knights and dragons were to interact. It was the dragon that had shown him that all he believed in was not a sham, that he could do some good, he could make a difference. He whispered his thanks, and how much he would miss the dragon to the stars.  
  
It was in the twilight just before dawn that it happened. He sat, listening to the steady thump of his heart, watching one particular star as it shone in the night, when the star gave a terrific burst of light, and suddenly the thump of his own heart was joined by the rhythm of another. Ththummpp, Ththummp. The new rhythm was infectious, hypnotic. He was drawn to it, drawn into it. Then a voice sounded in his head. A voice that was beautiful. So much more beautiful than when it had sounded on earth it was ethereal, mystical.  
  
~I feel the same, my friend. My last gift to you, the other half of my heart. I will live inside you, and all those who carry your dreams until the end of time. Look inside, whenever you need me, this is where I'll be.~  
  
Then the star flashed once more and then the sun broke through the night. He smiled, once at the sky, and closed his eyes. A new day was upon them, and there was hope.  



End file.
